Protozoan organisms consist up a group of intestinal parasites that some of them like as Giardia and Cryptosporidia have a zoonotic danger. Animals including cats can shed these organisms in their feces and lead to contamination of environment. Diagnostic problems in relation with their isolation and identification because of their very small size lead to a fact that a little study exist about these intestinal habitants.

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of intestinal protozoal infection and identification of isolated species in stray cats.

Material & Methods

Fifty stray cats collected from different locations in Tehran (capital city of Iran) by a special cage. Animals kept in isolated cages and fecal samples collected by natural defecation. Samples concentrated by formol-ether method and one to two drops of its sediments examined under light microscope with 40-x magnification. In problematic situations and to confirm diagnosis, oil magnification also used. Furthermore, one smear from each animal prepared by modified ziel nelson staining method to detect acid-fast organisms like as cryptosporidia.

Results

The results of this study showed that 13 cases (26 %) of the stray cats had infection with at least one protozoan organism. sarcocyst sp and Giardia were more prevalent (8%) and the rate of infection with Isospora felis and Isospora rivolta was 6 and 4 percent respectively. Cryptosporidia was not detected in none of the acid-fast stained samples.

Conclusion

This study showed that stray cats can harbor and shed these organisms in environment and some of them like as Giardia due to its zoonotic potential have very important role in public health considerations. Therefore, these animals need more attention and preventive methods concerning their contamination hazards should be noticed